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Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog (also known as 'The Ultimate Lifeform' or by his ARK Project Identification as 'Project 1') was a Mobian hedgehog that has a distinction because of the fact that he was artificially created by Overlander scientists some time around 3186, which is for all intents and purposes the year of his birth. His 'Father' was the scientist Gerald Kintobor , who treated Shadow much like a son. Following Kintobor's forced removal from the ARK by political rivals, Shadow went into hiding emerging for brief periods of time, but forcing himself back into general knowledge by 3234 following First Contact with a UNSC supercarrier, Indomitable. ''Shadow has been seen as a neutral asset by both the UEG and the citizens of Mobius, mainly striking out for his own purposes. Contrary to popular belief within the Kingdom of Acorn, Shadow himself was born thirty years before Sonic the Hedgehog, though he biologically ages much slower due to the medical techniques used in creating him. Though well over the age of fifty, he has the build and appearance of a nineteen year old athlete. Biography Early Life The exact means of Shadow's birth are not known as all records pertaining to that particular part of his life have either been destroyed in the Great War, were purged by the Sentinel political party of the Overlanders, or were taken from Mobius in the great exodus following the war's completion to Mabia. However, given that Shadow does not have biological parents and took genetic information instead, it is quite possible that he was created through ''in vitro fertilization and was grown in a vat that served as an artificial uterus. From here, Shadow would have gone through a general or lab-monitored gestation period. Upon growing to an acceptable size, additional genetic manipulation occured with ARK lab technicians exploring how to enhance Shadow's capabilities, or as he was known within the labs, Project 1. Shadow's rating was not based on his chronological creation, but his priority. His creation was based solely on scientific advancement and to show that Overlanders could care and work for Mobian advancement as well in an attempt to end the centuries-long rivalry between the two civilizations. Upon being 'born', Shadow was fully formed as an adult, though he needed to be taught how to act. Within only a couple years and with education being subconsciously taught to him, Shadow was able to function as a young man in both motor skills and in knowledge. In this stage, he was still very closed off and sheltered within the labs. He was well cared for, but his social interaction was lacking. This changed roughly one year after his birth when he met Maria Kintobor, the granddaughter to Gerald Kintobor, and the cousin of Julian Kintobor. Instantly, the pair developed a bond that was unable to be broken, further proving Gerald's argument that Mobians and Overlanders could indeed live together in harmony. Having Maria as a friend was possibly one of the best things that could have happened to Shadow, causing him to feel emotions such as joy, happiness, and sadness for the first times in his life, and since he was still constantly learning the meaning for these things, he was still unsure why they were happening to him. Maria helped him learn by teaching him science, geography, and social studies - things she learned within her own school, but the one thing that Maria couldn't abide was the argument that the Mobians were the enemies of the Overlanders. Whenever she visited him, Maria told Shadow of the exact opposite. The pair were the closest of companions up until 3188, in which the ARK was invaded by an ultra-conservative group of political militants known as the Sentinel Party, who valued isolationism and seething rivalry against them Mobians, saying that only full extinction would be the point of satisfaction. The frightening thing was that they were gaining traction in a society that had always been taught to hate the anthropomorphic neighbors. The Sentinels were responsible for the destruction of multiple lab experiments, killing multiple scientists, as well as Maria Kintobor and her father, First Minister Bertram Kintobor. Shadow was able to escape using an escape craft system, though the impact back on Mobius' system left him with partial memory loss, with much of his early life lost, though some portions, such as Maria's death, were left in his mind, which caused a sense of rage that would remain with him for much of his life. Drifter Shadow had disappeared from much of public life from this point as he was on the run from the Sentinels who were actively searching for him so that he could be destroyed. Shadow was the symbol of a new movement that needed to be stamped out before there was trouble. It is believed that Shadow went under a pseudonym and made his way South, staying for long periods of time within the Great Wilderness, though frequently finding himself in pockets of civilization. From 3190 to 3210, Shadow made his way from multiple communities, never staying for long periods of time due to the fact that he aged slowly, which would have made him suspicious. Instead, he was forced to keep his appearances limited to only a few years at the most, each time taking on a new name and a new story so that nobody would be able to find him. Each time, he posed as a survivor of a crash or attack. Eventually by 3225 he found his way to the Kingdom of Acorn, but decades of experience hiding from others, he was able to avoid the fallout of the war and in fact blended in with the refugees that arrived from what was now known as Robotropolis. The next ten years were some of Shadow's worst, as he was now in a society that was dominated by more rules and a steady but slowly declining military rule on behalf of the king in order to ensure no additional combat would follow. Upon hearing that all surviving Overlander clans had left the planet, Shadow was allowed to exhale for the first time in decades. The threat of the Sentinels were over, but now there was a new challenge: making a life for himself. Much of Shadow's experience would go to working for mysterious and underground clients who needed things done. He would never kill, as the objects of his rage were no longer available. However, he would be an enforcer on account of his strength and occasionally a thief for his quickness. While perfoming on the latter job, he made two major additions to his life. The first was a set of jet shoes powered by fusion energy intended for military scouts to traverse terrain. The second was that he was introduced to his future compatriot, Rouge the Bat. In 3230, he encountered her for the first time while obtaining incriminating evidence that would send his client to prison. As it so happened, Rouge the Bat was attempting to break into the same location for a cache of untracable currency for laundering purposes. The pair mistook each other for a hostile, and attacked one another. After a thirty minute hand to hand fight which spanned four floors, the pair reconciled and shook bloody hands as friends. Robotnik One of the biggest surprises of Shadow's life was finally when he was found by an Overlander, though it as not what he expected. A supposed relative of Maria's contacted Shadow and expressed a wish to see him so that they could catch up "as family should". Shadow made his way towards the source of the signal and found out that it was the site of Robotropolis, the city where people had warned him not to go. However he was determined. He sensed the truth in the message and made his way into the city and was soon greeted by Julian Kintobor, Maria's cousin. Julian, who called himself 'Robotnik' now insisted that he was on to something as he missed his cousin dearly, saying that he had a deep relationship with her. Shadow though was curious as to why Maria did not mention him much if they had such a deep relationship. This prompted Robotnik to issue his proposition. He had been in search of the Chaos Emeralds to gain control of the situation on Mobius, and he made no effort to hide it. However, he also stated that the Emeralds, when brought together would cause a magical event to happen, which was the power of life itself, which could be used to resurrect the dead if possible through rejuvination. The offer was too good to be true, yet Shadow buckled at the knees. Anything that could have been done to bring his friend back and bring a sense of purpose back in his life would have been more than enough for him. He agreed to help Robotnik find the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow was adept at his job, using contacts and intuition to locate the jewels, but he suspected that there was more to Robotnik's plan than he was letting on. Though he did remain loyal throughout his time with him, he slowly formed his own plan, thinking on taking the Emeralds for himself and would bring Maria back on his own. He kept this idea deep within himself though and went on as if nothing had formed in his mind. First Contact In 3234, one of the most important events in Mobian history was the arrival of Humanity through a military supercarrier known as the Indomitable. The ship caused commotion in the population, but mostly in Shadow, who saw the Overlanders, and not Humans at first. He believed that they had come back to resume their search for him and enslave the people he had been living among. At first chance, Shadow stowed away aboard the Indomitable staying within the crowded hold and observing the Humans. After hours of watching them and learning from them, he concluded that he was wrong, and a sense of curiosity awoke in him, which had been quiet for decades. Safe within the hold of the ship, he just took in the information and listened, picking up things within seconds and piecing together parts of Human culture from the small snippets that he had absorbed. For days he stayed aboard the vessel, analyzing guard routes, taking note of weapons and security systems. Shadow wondered if the Humans knew anything about the Overlanders, and if he could use the ship to his advantage. He used maintenance corridors to move about, and was shocked to see alien creatures fixing systems. They were gassy beings that floated about chirping to themselves, but were otherwise ignoring him. Eventually, the Indomitable left with him aboard and he was taken to Earth, whereupon he was amazed with the level of technological advancement. Shadow wondered to himself if perhaps the Humans knew about the ultimate challenge: bringing the dead back to life. However, he could not give away his position aboard the ship. Shadow posed as a VIP aboard the vessel in vacant rooms in the passenger quarters which were usually reserved for allied soldiers or dignitaries. When questioned, he simply said that he was a Royal Military Officer, and with his tone of voice, he convinced several guards of this, as they did not want to cross the supposed officer or whoever his parents may have been. It was here that he learned that a Mobian government official, Sally Alicia Acorn , was on Earth. It was his attempt to try and speak with them in an attempt to play both sides of the field. He once again hid himself on the ship and waited until they had arrived back on Mobius before finally revealing himself to a group of Humans who had detected his presence. One of the Marines, a Lieutenant fired upon him, actually grazing his leg, which forced him down and led to his capture. While in interrogation with this man goaded him into a fight, which Shadow won, nearly beating the man to death. However, after winning the fight, Shadow appeared to the Marine in the hospital, giving him information on a secret base that Robotnik was using to build a massive battle feet with the Emeralds he found in the first place. His gambit proved positive and the Human fleets rallied to attack the base. Shadow appeared to be playing the villain though, taking the side of Kintobor to the eyes of all others. However, the combined effort of Humanity, Mobians, and several other alien combatants was enough to destroy the Flying Factory, crippling Robotnik's hold on Mobius, which forced him to abandon the planet and aim for Earth's universe where he was relatively unknown. Shadow finally saw his moment to strike out on his own. Personality Shadow's personality prior to the attack on the ARK was one of a fully formed person. He experienced all emotions that a naturally born individual would feel but it is arguable that perhaps Maria was the focal point for his emotional buildup. Following the attack and Maria's death, and even more subsequent memory damage from the escape, Shadow underwent something of a metamorphosis. He became something of a darker, brooding individual who felt very rarely the emotions that he had before. He could very much imitate them and at times felt hapiness and positive energy, but often-times he was a closed off individual who rarely spoke to a large multitude of people, instead choosing a small circle of those that he trusted completely. This was largely apparent during his time in the Great Wilderness, though after being associated with OMEGA, he was more developed in speaking with others. He was also intelligent as was a point of his creation, but did not boast or was excessive in his intelligence. He was a quiet genius for all intents and purposes. Behind the Scenes Shadow's differentiation is very apparent between his official and CC counterpart, as his early life diverges very much between the two realities. Shadow's genetic makeup within the official Archie Pre-Genesis timeline was based on Black Doom, an alien creature that contributed to his creation, and was later meant to be an agent for the Black Arms, the alien race that Doom headed. Gerald Robotnik though was not willing to give him up though and intended for Shadow to be the guardian of the planet. Within the Archie timeline, Maria was killed by GUN, the Human military as a cover-up operation for Gerald's refusal to have the ARK be used as a superweapon, and after escaping, Shadow only awakened after fifty years of stasis with amnesia resulting from it. This is one of the main differentiations as Chaos Chronicles Shadow was not in stasis and experienced fifty years that had passed, allowing his personality to diverge from his Archie and SEGA counterparts. Shadow also had excessive contact with the Human military as well as the Kingdom of Acorn, working with them on several occasions and giving them information on defeating Robotnik on Mobius. CC Shadow, much like his SEGA counterpart, is comfortable using weaponry to achieve his goals as well. In a sense, within the Chaos Chronicles, he is a fusion, not really alike, but not really different as he was brought up in a different environment altogether. List of Appearances *Tabula Rasa (Chronologically First) *Shadow in the Dark (First Appearance) *Journal of Sally Acorn (Mentioned Only) *Soldier's Log *The Terran Incident *Infested Category:Character Category:Mobian Category:Civilian